A third straight day of negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement reportedly brought about little progress, though it did offer up added clarity: if MLB owners and players are unable to reach a deal by Feb. 28, the 2022 regular season will not start on time.
A league spokesperson affirmed that stance after Wednesday's meetings concluded, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic, saying plainly, "A deadline is a deadline." That date has long been identified as a cutoff point, though now appears to unambiguously stand as the point of no return.
As far as the issues that were discussed on Wednesday, the owners reportedly offered to add $10,000 to the current league-minimum salaries for the next five years, per Drellich.